Despite the conceits of New York
and Washington, almost nothing starts there. In the course of my work, I have
been overwhelmingly impressed with the extent to which America is a bottom-up
society. Trends are bottom-up, fads top-down.
John Naisbitt, Megatrends, 1982

October 4,
2012 -The first Romney-Obama debate came
down to this exchange.

Governor Romney: “What we’re seeing right now is, in my view, a
trickle-down government approach, which has government thinking it can do a
better job than free people pursuing their dreams — and it’s not working,”

“The
proof of that is 23 million people out of work,” he said. “The proof of that is
1 out of 6 people in poverty. The proof of that is we’ve gone from 32 million
on food stamps to 47 million on food stamps. The proof of that is that 50
percent of college graduates this year can’t find work.”

“We
know that the path we are taking is not working. It is time for a new path.

President Obama:“ Look, the genius of America is the free
enterprise system and freedom, and the fact that people can go out there and
start a business, work on an idea, make their own decisions.” "But as Abraham
Lincoln understood, there are also some things we do better together.”

“So
in the middle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Let’s help to finance
the Transcontinental Railroad, let’s start the National Academy of Sciences,
let’s start land grant colleges, because we want to give these gateways of
opportunity for all Americans, because if all Americans are getting
opportunity, we’re all going to be better off.’ "

“That
doesn’t restrict people’s freedom. That enhances it. And so what I’ve tried to
do as president is to apply those same principles, adding that education
spending and high-quality teachers are critical.”

There
is something to be said for each point of view. A delicate balance exists between top-down control and bottom-up enterprise.

·The Obama view is that
“trickle-down economics” is anathema. Economic goods do not naturally flow down from
thewealthy and powerful to the middle class and the poor. Therefore, government must intercede to set
things right to make sure everyone gets their "fair share". Trickle-down economics is what led to the
Great Recession of 2008 and must not be allowed to resurface and prevail.

·The Romney position is
that “trickle- down government “ has been destructive by imposing its
mandates and its power. Over-regulating and
over-taxing the “wealthy” stifles freedom and job creation. Indeed, trickle-down government has perpetuated and prolonged the Recession. American entrepreneurs in particular , and American business persons in general, must be freeded up to pursue their dreams of success and wealth. President
Obama, Romney argues, has upset the balance of power by growing government spending to 25% of GDP, the
highest level since World War II and by increasing the national debt to over
$16 trillion,greater than all previous
presidents combined.In the case of
health care,spending has grown to 18%
of the federal budget, another record.

On health care, Governor
Romney came bearing this information:

1)
Family spending on
health premiums had increased by $2500 over the last four years.

2)That the health law has
taken $716 billion from Medicare to finance Obamacare.

3)That the health law
contained a proposal that an unelected Independent Payment Advisory Board
(IPAB) be established to dictate what Medicare would pay for and would set
doctor and hospital fees.

4)That in a survey, three-fourths of
American businesses said they were less likely to hire because of Obamacare.

Initial
polls by CBS and CNN indicate that two-thirds to three-fourths of debate viewers
thought Governor Romney won the debate.

Tweet:The essence of the first Presidential debate
centered on the faults and virtues ofTrickle-Down
Economics versus Trickle-Down Government.

The Health Reform Maze

Buy the Book

Book Description: In this first book in a series of four, Richard L. Reece, MD. provides a unique view of the roll out, and run up, of the Affordable Care Act. Reece shows in this book the progress and facets of ObamaCare's marketers and messengers, as the day approached for the launch of health insurance exchanges - the single most public and problematic portion of the new law. This is a must read for anyone who wants to chronicle this attempt to organize more than one-sixth of the U.S. economy by adding layers of federal government control and regulations.

Reece has been writing about U.S. health care for more than 45 years. His knowledge and experience, added to his keen intellect and gift of subtle humor, make this book a valuable part of anyone's collection.